Cats and the Other Lives similar games & best alternatives

Cats and the Other Lives

Mac, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One • 2022

Should you play it?

Part interactive fiction, part Felis domesticus adventure, “Cats and the Other Lives” explores the reunion of a broken family from the perspective of their house cat, Aspen.

What works
  • Deep and emotional story
  • Realistic and charming cat behavior
  • Beautiful pixel art and music
  • Immersive atmosphere
  • Accessible gameplay
Things to keep in mind
  • Frustrating minigame controls
  • Linear and restrictive gameplay
  • Slow pacing for some players
  • Lack of customization
  • Some bugs reported

What to play next

Similar games, hidden gems, and fresh directions from this game.

Top picks

Games that feel the closest overall

  • Fishing at the Lake Full of Cats

  • Calico

  • Kathy Rain

  • The Dark Eye: Memoria

  • Syberia: The World Before

  • UNREAL LIFE

  • Anna's Quest

  • Lamplight City

  • Silence
Hidden Gems

Less popular games with surprisingly high similarity

  • Fishing at the Lake Full of Cats

  • Old Skies

  • Moebius: Empire Rising
If you liked…

Recommendations by what you enjoyed most

  • Story

    WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT
  • Escapism

    A Plague Tale: Innocence
  • Autonomy

    Copycat

Similarity map

Explore nearby similar games and see why they’re close.

How to use the graph
Similarity map

Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Why this game works” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

  • Purple star: this page’s game — everything on the map is relative to it.
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot for a screenshot preview, score, and top score gaps; click to compare in the panel on the right.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers (hidden on purpose).

Cats and the Other Lives: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Competition, Thrill. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Intimacy. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Expression, Fellowship.

Why this game works

A motivational profile of the game, with the closest similar game for each player motivation.

  • Autonomy

    Game with the same Autonomy vibe

    3

    "Players control the cat's actions and make some choices affecting the story, though gameplay is mostly linear and guided."

    Capsule for Copycat Copycat

    "Players control the cat Aspen and direct its actions freely within a linear narrative, with some agency in exploration and puzzle solving."

  • Competence

    Game with the same Competence vibe

    1

    "Gameplay involves simple point-and-click mechanics with minimal puzzles; some mini-games exist but are not highly challenging."

    Capsule for Sinless + OST Sinless + OST

    "Gameplay is mostly simple point-and-click with some puzzles and a few challenging minigames, but overall low difficulty."

  • Competition

    Game with the same Competition vibe

    -5

    "No competitive elements; focus is on personal story experience and exploration without comparison to others."

    Capsule for OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition

    "No competitive elements; focus is on personal story experience and exploration without comparison to others."

  • Continuation

    Game with the same Continuation vibe

    3

    "Players report long play sessions, emotional attachment to story and characters, and repeated exploration, indicating sustained engagement."

    Capsule for Knights And Bikes Knights And Bikes

    "Many players report immersive story and emotional engagement leading to long play sessions and desire to finish."

  • Cooperation

    Game with the same Cooperation vibe

    -5

    "Single-player experience focused on individual exploration and story; no multiplayer or teamwork."

    Capsule for Port of Call Port of Call

    "Single-player experience focused on individual exploration and narrative; no multiplayer or teamwork."

  • Creativity

    Game with the same Creativity vibe

    2

    "Players interact with objects and solve puzzles creatively, but within a linear narrative and predefined structure."

    Capsule for The Beast Inside The Beast Inside

    "Players interact with environment and solve puzzles creatively as a cat, but within a mostly linear, predefined story."

  • Domination

    Game with the same Domination vibe

    -5

    "No elements of exerting control over others; interactions are cooperative and narrative-driven."

    Capsule for Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™ Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™

    "No elements of exerting control over others; interactions are observational and cooperative in narrative only."

  • Escapism

    Game with the same Escapism vibe

    4

    "Strong narrative and immersive atmosphere provide emotional escape from real life."

    Capsule for A Plague Tale: Innocence A Plague Tale: Innocence

    "Strong emotional story and immersive atmosphere provide players with a meaningful escape from real life."

  • Expectation

    Game with the same Expectation vibe

    -4

    "Players engage voluntarily driven by intrinsic interest in story and emotional experience."

    Capsule for To the Moon To the Moon

    "Players engage voluntarily driven by intrinsic interest in story, cats, and narrative experience."

  • Experimenting

    Game with the same Experimenting vibe

    1

    "Some experimentation with upgrade order possible, but mostly linear progression limits novelty exploration."

    Capsule for Lemonade Apocalypse Lemonade Apocalypse

    "Some exploration and puzzle experimentation, but mostly guided linear progression limits novelty."

  • Exploration

    Game with the same Exploration vibe

    2

    "Players explore new locations and uncover story elements, though within a limited set of environments."

    Capsule for Blackwell Convergence Blackwell Convergence

    "Players explore a mansion environment and uncover story elements, though exploration is limited and guided."

  • Expression

    Game with the same Expression vibe

    -3

    "Limited customization or self-expression; players interact with fixed scenes and cats without personalization."

    Capsule for A Building Full of Cats A Building Full of Cats

    "Limited customization or self-expression; players control a fixed cat character with preset animations."

  • Fantasy

    Game with the same Fantasy vibe

    2

    "Light fantasy elements with exaggerated cat behavior and quirky story, but grounded in a home setting."

    Capsule for Fort Meow Fort Meow

    "Game blends realistic cat behavior with supernatural elements like visions and ghosts, creating a mild fantasy."

  • Fellowship

    Game with the same Fellowship vibe

    -5

    "No social or community features; experience is solitary and narrative-focused."

    Capsule for Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise

    "No social or community features; experience is solitary and narrative-focused."

  • Growth

    Game with the same Growth vibe

    2

    "Players develop puzzle-solving skills and understanding of story through gameplay."

    Capsule for LUNA The Shadow Dust LUNA The Shadow Dust

    "Players learn about characters and story depth; gameplay offers some skill development in puzzles."

  • Health

    Game with the same Health vibe

    -5

    "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

    Capsule for DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT

    "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

  • Idle

    Game with the same Idle vibe

    -3

    "Requires focused attention on puzzles and story; slow pacing but no background or idle play."

    Capsule for Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse

    "Requires player attention to progress story and solve puzzles; some slow pacing but not idle gameplay."

  • Intimacy

    Game with the same Intimacy vibe

    3

    "Emotional connection to characters and story fosters a sense of closeness and empathy."

    Capsule for To the Moon To the Moon

    "Emotional connection to characters and story fosters a sense of closeness and empathy."

  • Leadership

    Game with the same Leadership vibe

    -5

    "No leadership or management roles; player acts as a participant in a fixed narrative."

    Capsule for Kemono Teatime Kemono Teatime

    "No leadership or management roles; player acts as observer and participant in a fixed narrative."

  • Progression

    Game with the same Progression vibe

    2

    "Story and puzzle progression drive the experience; no item collection or upgrades."

    Capsule for The Medium The Medium

    "Story and puzzle progression drive the experience; no item collection or upgrades."

  • Relaxation

    Game with the same Relaxation vibe

    3

    "Generally calm and atmospheric gameplay with moments of emotional tension."

    Capsule for Röki Röki

    "Generally calm and cozy atmosphere with moments of emotional catharsis; some tension in minigames."

  • Sensation

    Game with the same Sensation vibe

    3

    "Appealing pixel art, animations, and music provide sensory enjoyment and emotional engagement"

    Capsule for Wargroove Wargroove

    "Appealing pixel art, animations, and music provide sensory enjoyment and emotional engagement."

  • Status

    Game with the same Status vibe

    -5

    "No social recognition or status systems; focus is on personal narrative experience."

    Capsule for Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

    "No social recognition or status systems; focus is on personal narrative experience."

  • Story

    Game with the same Story vibe

    5

    "Strong narrative immersion with well-developed characters and emotional storytelling."

    Capsule for WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT

    "Strong narrative immersion with well-developed characters and emotional storytelling."

  • Strategy

    Game with the same Strategy vibe

    0

    "Puzzles require some thought but overall straightforward; not heavily strategic."

    Capsule for The Mooseman The Mooseman

    "Minimal strategic challenge; puzzles require some thinking but mostly straightforward progression."

  • Thrill

    Game with the same Thrill vibe

    0

    "Some suspenseful moments but overall a calm, low-risk narrative experience."

    Capsule for Eternal Threads Eternal Threads

    "Some suspenseful moments and minigames, but overall a calm narrative experience."

  • Value

    Game with the same Value vibe

    3

    "Players report good value for time spent due to story length, replayability, and quality."

    Capsule for ACE Academy ACE Academy

    "Players report good value for time spent due to story quality and emotional impact."

  • Violence

    Game with the same Violence vibe

    -5

    "No emphasis on combat or destruction; gameplay focuses on exploration and narrative."

    Capsule for Title_Pending Title_Pending

    "No enjoyment of combat or destruction; gameplay focuses on exploration and narrative."

  • Survival

    Game with the same Survival vibe

    -5

    "No survival mechanics or threat avoidance; stable and safe environment."

    Capsule for SpaceEngine SpaceEngine

    "No survival mechanics or threat avoidance; stable and safe environment."

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Last update: 01/06/2026